Corner cabinet structure



3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

H. C. BULLARD CORNER CABINET STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 25, 1942 Jan, 30, 1945.

i NIH CUI jan. 30, 1945. l H. Q BULLARD 2,368,285

CORNER CABINET STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 25, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

i l f', HTTOR y Jan. 30, 1345. H. c. .BULLARD CORNER CABINET STRUCTURE Filed Aug. 25, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 02W R Lm P w d m wcm 1.@ ,m m.N\ VINI-: .0-1- gil -1. In HL "Mx {,N fw :I if; W i.. im 4 .I ff Y Y. ...I B Il. U "Nl, |IMI Ui. u v m, if NN A A NN my .I I!! i. k QN Patented Jan. 30, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT o-FETCE CORNER CABINET STRUCTURE Harold C. Bullard, Cambridge, Mass.

Application August 25, 1942, Serial No. 455,987

6 Claims.

This invention relates to cabinets of the type designed to be positioned in a corner of a, room. It aims to devise a cabinet structure of this type which can be conveniently packed for shipment in a knocked down condition and can be quickly and easily assembled into a sturdy, substantial, and thoroughly reliable structure, even by a person not skilled in the use of tools.

In connection with the merchandising of knock-down furniture, an important point to be borne in mind is that the ultimate user, who must assemble the article, may not even be able to drive a nail into such an article without injuring the nish or the surface to which finish is to be applied. Accordingly, it is one of the objects of this invention to devise a knock-down cabinet ,in which the danger of injury from this cause will be substantially eliminated.

The nature of the invention will be readily understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a corner cabinet constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig, 2 is a vertical, sectional View taken approximately on the line 2 2. Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an angular rear view of the cabinet shown in Fig. l with some parts broken away in order better to illustrate detailsof construction;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal, sectional view on the line 4l, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is an elevation of a portion of one of the rear panels.

Referring first to Figs. l, 2 and 3, the cabinet there shown comprises a front section including two upright side pieces or pilaste'rs7 indicated at 2 and 3, respectively, connected together by cross pieces including top and bottom rails 4 and 5 and an intermediate counter rail 6. These parts are assembled at the mill and are secured permanently together in any suitable manner, preferably by hard wood dowels set into place with glue. Behind this front section is a series of Shelves 1, each preferably a duplicate of the other. Also. in order to simplify the manufacturing and assembling operations, they are preferably spaced apart by equal distances. As best shown inFig. 4, each shelf has approximately the shape of an isosceles triangle and is provided with a series of lugs 8 extending from the rear edges thereof. Two of these lugs, located at about the middle of the edge portions of the shelf, yare undercut at their forward edges, as indicated at a, and the rear lug is similarly undercut at its forward edges. In the assembled cabinet these lugs project through slots formed in the two rear panels lll-IO, certain of these slots being shown in Figs. 4 and 5 at l2.

The parts just described, namely, the front section, the two panels l0 and the shelves'l form the chief elements of which the cabinet is composed. In assembling these parts a convenient method is to enter the middle lug 8 at one edge kof the top shelf through the proper slot in one of the panels l0 and then to slide it forward until the forward lug snaps into its slot and the middle and rear lugs are rrnly interlocked withv the portions of the panel at the forward edges of the respective slots in which they are located. This operation may then be repeated with each of the other shelves in regular turn. Next the other panel I0 may be placed with its upper margin against the edge of the top shelf so that the middle lug 8 will pass through the proper slot to receive it and the panel may then be pushed back until the walls of the rear slot are rrnly seated under the rear lug and the front lug has snapped into the front slot. This operation likewise is repeated with each of the other shelves, in turn, until all of them have been assembled with the two back panels.

If the front section now is placed face down on the floor, this assembly of shelves and the rear panels may be positioned on it with the forward edges of the panels inserted in the V-shaped grooves b-b, shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Three screws I3, Figs. 3 and 4, may now be driven through the forward margin of each panel ID near the top, middle and bottom, respectively, where they serve to draw the forward edges of tbe panels, and also the shelves, firmly against the pilasters 2 and 3 of the front section.

Preferably the shelves and the panels are made of plywood and the forward edge of each shelf is strengthened and4 given a very much better appearance by securing a strip of molding c thereto. This piece is of L-section and usually is grooved, beaded, or otherwise ornamented on its frontl surface so that it contributes materially to the appearance of the cabinet, as well as rein-` forcing it mechanically. The strength of the entire structure is also improved by rooving or rabbeting the rearward surfaces of the cross pieces 4, 5 and 6 of the front section to receive these reinforced edges c, as shown in Fig. 2. At points where these shelves cross the front opening in the cabinet, the reinforcing pieces are cut of suitable dimensions to fit snugly between the edges of said opening.

mechanical- This arrangement, plus the manner in which the panels and the shelves are secured to each other and to the pilasters of the front section, makes a very sturdy, substantial and reliable structure. It will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 4 that any tendency for a shelf to move backwardly is effectively prevented by the engagement of the front lugs 8 with the rearward edges of the slots in which they rest and they cannot move forwardly because their front edges abut against the rearward surfaces of the pilasters.

At the rear corner of the cabinet the space between the edges of the panels I is closed by corner strips or pieces I4 which are grooved, as best shown in Fig. 4, to receive said edges. These pieces are so shaped that after the assembling operation above described has been completed, each piece can be forced'into position, one at a time, from the inside of the cabinet by first pushing the top or the bottom of a piece into place, the rear margins of the plywood panels springing sufficiently to permit this operation, and then applying pressure progressively along the remaining length of the strip to push it into its locked position, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Each space between shelves requires one corner piece I4.

A door I5, preferably having stiles and rails of the same face measurement so that it can be turned upside down, if desired, is held in place by hinges I6. These hinges may be secured' to the door at the factory, and because of the feature just mentioned, it can be swung from either side of the cabinet most convenient for the location which it is to occupy. Preferably its margins are grooved or lipped on all four sides to limit its closing movement and it may be hung with offset hinges to give a minimuml exposure of metal at the face of the cabinet.

Such a construction as that above described lends itself readily to a wide variety of design or ornamentation. It can easily be assembled or taken down, and the only tool required in performing either of these operations is a screwdriver. The number of kinds of parts to be handled is so small, consisting simply of a front section (fully assembled), shelves, rear panels, a door, and lock strips, that there is little opportunity for confusion or diiculty in selecting the right piece to go in a given position. This is particularly true since all of the shelves are dupli- Cates, the rear panels are interchangeable, and the lock strips I4 also can be interchanged at will. It should also be observed that the quantity of metal hardware which the assembler must handle is reduced to a minimum, consisting of six round head screws to fasten the rear panels to the front section, the four screws to fasten the hinges, and one screw to secure the door knob to the door. Because of this fact and the further fact that there are no nails to drive, with the possible danger of them splitting the wood, the liability of marring any finished surface, or any surface to be finished, due to lack of skill on the part of the assembler is reduced to a min-` imum. This is a particularly important advantage when the nishing operation is performed at the factory.

While I have herein shownand described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be evident that the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

Havingthus described my invention, what I desire to claim as new is:

1. In a corner cabinet, the combination of a front section, a plurality of triangular shelves extending rearwardly from said section and spaced apart, one above another; two back panels, said shelves having integral undercut lugs extending from their rearward edges and said panels having slots to receive said lugs and to interlock with them by a relative sliding movement of one on the other, means for fastening said front section and said panels releasably in cooperative relationship to each other, and parts of said cabinet engaging edges of said panels when they are in their operative positions and locking them against sliding movement in directions to release them from said lugs.

2. In a corner cabinet, the combination of a front section, a plurality of triangular shelves extending rearwardly from said section and spaced apart, one above another, two back panels, said shelves having undercut lugs projecting from their edges with portions extending forwardly, said panels having slots to receive said lugs with surfaces of said forwardly extending portions of .the lugs engaging the outer surfaces of the panels and thereby holding the panels against the main portions of the edges of the shelves, said front section being grooved horizontally to receive the forward edges of certain of said shelves, and screws extending through the forward margins of said panels and into the adjacent portions of said front section where they serve to draw said shelves into said grooves, the panels having forward edges abutting against parts of said shelves and said front section where they lock the panels and shelves against releasing movement one relatively to the other.

3. In a corner cabinet, the combination of a front section, a plurality of triangular shelves extending rearwardly from said section and spaced apart, one above another, two back panels, said panels and said shelves having interlocking connections serving to secure them releasably to each other, means for fastening edges of said panels to said front section, the shelves being held in cooperative relationship to said front section by their connection with said panels and the fact that the panels are fastened to said front section.

4. In a corner cabinet, the combination of a front section, a plurality of triangular shelves extending rearwardly from said section and spaced apart, one above another, two back panels, said panels and said shelves having interlocking connections serving to secure them releasably to each other, means for fastening edges of said panels to said front section, the shelves being held in cooperative relationship to said front section by their connection with said panels and the fact that the panels are fastened to said front section, and a plurality of corner pieces fitted respectively between adjacent shelves and substantially closing the spaces between the rear edge portions of said panels.

5. In a corner cabinet, the combination of a front section, a plurality of triangular shelves extending rearwardly from said section and spaced apart, one above another, two back panels, said panels and said shelves having interlocking connections serving to secure them releasably to each other, `means for fastening edges of said panels to said front section, the shelves being held in cooperative relationship to said front section by their connection with said panels and the fact that the panels are fastened to said front section, and an upright corner piece fitting between the rear edges of said panels, the opposite upright edges of said corner piece being grooved to receive said rear edges of the panels.

6. In a corner cabinet, the combination of a front section, a plurality of triangular shelves extending rearwardly from said section and spaced apart, one above another, two back panels extending along the rearward converging 

